Hydrablog

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/14/AR2009091403342.html
N.Y. Homes Raided in Terror Probe
By Spencer S. Hsu and Carrie Johnson
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, September 15, 2009 [Obama white house] [111th congress, 1st session] [on 8-year commemoration of 9/11] [gsave] [the long-feared “sleeper” cells in US] [bureaucratic] [entire IC and law enforcement domestic and foreign—latter when allowed by law] [use psci469b] [*]
Federal and city counterterrorism agents raided homes in New York City early Monday after a man under surveillance for suspected ties to al-Qaeda met with people in Queens, [*] federal officials said.
Rep. Peter T. King (N.Y.), the senior Republican on the Homeland Security Committee, said after receiving a briefing from federal authorities Monday afternoon that the suspect’s visit this weekend triggered the raids.
“He was being watched, and concern grew as he met with a group of individuals in Queens over the weekend,” King told ABC News on Monday in a report forwarded by his office. “The FBI went to court late last night for an emergency warrant to conduct the raids this morning.” [*]
FBI spokesman James Margolin confirmed that authorities executed search warrants at multiple locations in connection with what he called an "ongoing investigation." [*]
Paul J. Browne, a New York deputy police commissioner, said that the activity in Flushing was part of an ongoing joint terrorism task force probe, declining further comment.
Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), a Judiciary Committee member who also was briefed, said in a statement released by his office that authorities did not believe a threat was imminent.
"Our law enforcement officials are very good now at tracking potentially dangerous actions. This was preventive," Schumer said. [*]
White House spokesman Nick Shapiro, speaking before Obama's Tuesday visit to New York City , said the president "has been kept fully apprised of developments" and referred all questions to the FBI.
High-level federal officials delivered briefings Monday on Capitol Hill, details of which were classified, said a spokesman for Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Homeland Security subcommittee on intelligence. [congress briefed] [*]
Sources briefed on the case said it was unclear how close any plot was to acquiring weapons or selecting a target, but several unspecified factors, including uncertainty over the scope of the threat, prompted the raids. Authorities said there were no arrests. [it’s not at all clear that anything was happening] [understandably, authorities act out of an abundance of caution] [*] © 2009 The Washington Post Company